Riot police dispersed protesting high school students in Lille on Thursday (October 1), as a wave of French student protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated buildings gripped the country.

Students could be seen hastily building makeshift barricades with trash bins, setting some of them on fire.

The demonstrations and blockades, which began last week and coincided on Tuesday (September 29) with a broader public-sector strike, have become a political flashpoint at a sensitive moment for France.

On Thursday, the government will unveil the country's 2027 budget, which is expected to involve spending cuts aimed at easing pressure on government finances.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. FIREFIGHTERS PUTTING OUT BURNING TRASH BINS

2. SIGN FOR HIGH SCHOOLS BEHIND POLICE VAN

3. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BUILDING MAKESHIFT BARRICADE WITH BINS

4. RIOT POLICE RUNNING, STUDENTS FLEEING

5. MAN WALKING PAST DAMAGED BUS STOP / POLICE

6. BROKEN BUS STOP WINDOW

7. RIOT POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS

8. PROTESTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

9. RIOT POLICE WALKING

10. BOY ON BIKE WITH SMOKE IN DISTANCE

11. BURNING TRASH BINS

12. FIREFIGHTERS PUTTING OUT BURNING TRASH BINS